camerapediafandomcom-20200215-history
Yamashita
Yamashita Shōten or Yamashita Yūjirō Shōten, later Chūō Shashin-yōhin, was a Japanese distributor. History Prewar and wartime period The company Yamashita Shōten was already active in 1921. Its address at the time was Kōjimachi-ku Dōri 2–7 in Tokyo (東京市麴町通二丁目七番地). Advertisement in September 1921. It was sometimes called Yamashita Yūjirō Shōten, where Yamashita Yūjirō is a personal name, perhaps that of the founder. The short and long name were used indifferently from the 1920s to the early 1940s. The earliest advertisement observed so far with "Yamashita Yūjirō Shōten" is in November 1924. The advertisement in January 1934, and other advertisements dated March 1936 and February 1942 reproduced in , pp.71 and 74, have the short form "Yamashita Shōten". The Shinkoflex page of the JCII collection says Yamashita Shōkai (山下商会) by mistake. The address from 1935 to 1942 was Kōjimachi-ku Kōjimachi 1–6 (東京市麴町区麴町一丁目六). Advertisements reproduced in , pp.62, 71, 74, 89–90, 92–3 and 106. The address is the same for "Yamashita Shōten" and "Yamashita Yūjirō Shōten", confirming that this is the same company. Yamashita acted as authorized dealers for a variety of cameras. It was the sole distributor of products made by Shinkō, among which the Shinkoflex, the first Japanese 6×6 SLR. The company certainly owned the brand name "Rondo", under which it sold a variety of photographic products. The Rondo logo is a man's silhouette, it appeared on advertisements dated 1939 to 1942. Advertisements reproduced in , pp.89, 93 and 106, and advertisements reproduced in the Gochamaze website and advertisement reproduced in Nostalgic Camera by Toshio Inamura. It also sold a variant of the Tsubasa Super Semi under the name Rondex. Rondex distributed by Yamashita: , p.344. Yamashita certainly also owned the brand name "Sun", and it sold the Sun Stereo camera and offered an auto stop advance retrofit for 4.5×6 folders, called "Sun film stop". Postwar period After the war, the company emerged in April 1946 as Chiyoda Shōkai, based in Ginza and established by Yamashita Yūjirō and Hashimoto Tadamasa (橋本忠政), as was clearly stated in an advertisement in . Advertisement in April 1946, p.30. The exact address was Tōkyō-to Kyōbashi-ku Ginza 7–3 (東京都京橋区銀座七丁目三番地). The company Chiyoda Shōkai would operate well into the 1950s, but Yamashita Yūjirō probably left at some time to found another company, again called K.K. Yamashita Yūjirō Shōten ( 山下友治郎商店), based in Ogawamachi and known to be active in February 1950. Advertisement dated February 1950 reproduced in , p.180. The address was Tōkyō-to Chiyoda-ku Kanda Ogawamachi 3–8 (東京都千代田区神田小川町3–8). In March or April 1950, the name of the company was changed to Chūō Shashin-yōhin K.K. (中央写真用品 ), translated in English as Central Photo Supply Co., Ltd., at the same address. An advertisement dated April 1950, reproduced in , p.180, says that Chūō Shashin-yōhin is the new name of Yamashita Yūjirō Shōten (山下友治郎商店改称). The English translation appears in an advertisement reproduced in , p.117. The address in Ogawamachi is the same as that of K.K. Yamashita Yūjirō Shōten, as appears in the advertisements dated 1950 to 1959 reproduced in , pp.117, 138, 150, 180–1 and 281. The company used the brand name Rondo again from 1951 to 1959. Advertisements reproduced in , pp.117, 138, 150, 181 and 281. The most recent mention of the company found so far is dated February 1959. February 1959 advertisement reproduced in , p.281. Prewar and wartime products Cameras sold under a Yamashita brand * Sun Stereo (4.5×6 stereo box, 1935–7) * Rondex (4.5×6 folder, name variant of the Tsubasa Super Semi, 1940) Cameras distributed by Yamashita * Boltax (25×25mm on Bolta film, from 1938) * Shinkoflex (6×6 SLR with focal plane shutter, 1940) * Shinko Super (6×6 viewfinder with focal plane shutter, 1942) * Shinko Baby (3×4 viewfinder) Cameras sold by Yamashita as authorized dealer * Gold plate folders (1935–6) Advertisements reproduced in , p.71. * Baby Light Undated leaflet by Ōhashi Takeji Shōten. * Hansa Semi Rollette and Hansa Rollette Ref (1937) Extract of the catalogue of Yamashita Yūjirō Shōten dated April 20, 1937, reproduced in , p.84. * Bakyna (1937) Extract of the catalogue of Yamashita Yūjirō Shōten dated April 20, 1937, reproduced in , p.91. * Semi Olympus, Semi Olympus II and Olympus Standard (1937) Advertisements reproduced in , p.62. * Optochrom range (1937–9) Advertisements reproduced in , pp.78–9. * Semi Proud (1936–42) Advertisements reproduced in , pp.71 and 89–90. * Semi Prux (1940) Advertisement reproduced in , p.90. * Semi Rody (1941–2) Advertisements reproduced in , pp.89 and 106. * Picny (1938) Advertisement reproduced in Awano, p.10 of no.332. * Boltax (1938–42) Advertisements reproduced in , pp.89, 92–3 and 106, and in Awano, p.10 of no.332. * Bolty (1942) Advertisement reproduced in , p.93. Cameras imported by Yamashita In the mid-1920s, Yamashita imported the Thowe plate folder and the KW Patent Etui. Aftermarket conversions In 1939, Yamashita Yūjirō Shōten advertised an auto-stop device called Sun film stop (サンフィルムストップ), offered as an aftermarket conversion for various 4.5×6 folding cameras. The conversion consists a metal casing replacing the regular advance key, supporting an advance knob, a large exposure counter disc and a sliding lever at the front to unlock the advance after each exposure. The device looks like the auto-stop mechanism of the Plaubel Roll-Op but is not a plain copy. It was made by an unknown company. The January 1939 advertisement in Asahi Camera shows the Sun film stop mounted on a Semi Prince with Pronto shutter, gives the price of ¥5 and says that the conversion was available for the 4.5×6 Super Ikonta, Ikonta, Nettar, Welta Perle, Semi Lyra, Semi Minolta and Semi Prince. Advertisement reproduced in , p.92. Other * Enlarging Zuiko 50/4.5 Advertisement reproduced in Nostalgic Camera by Toshio Inamura. * Shinko enlarger (1942) * flexible hoods, 27mm, 28mm and 30mm diameter (sold for ¥3.50 each in 1939) Column in January 1939, p.190. Postwar products These products were distributed by Yamashita then by Chūō. Bolta film cameras * Bolta Homer * Tri Flex (24×24mm pseudo TLR) 35mm film cameras * Autofocus Tele Homer (or "Outofocas Tere Homer") * Sunny (24×24mm, 1951) * Aruba 35 (24×24mm, 1953) * Aruba 35 II (24×36mm, 1953) The Wacoh A, made by National Kōgaku is attributed to Chūō in some sources, perhaps because it was distributed by the company. , item 3829, repeated in , p.206. * Rondo Colormatic * Rondo Auto-35 120 film cameras * Dox (6×9cm box, 1951–2) * Dox New Six (6×6cm box, 1951–2) * Ponix (6×6cm viewfinder, 1954–7) * Ponix Junior (6×6cm viewfinder, 1957–9) * Super Ponix (6×6cm viewfinder, 1958) * Ponix assembly set (6×6cm viewfinder, 1958–9) * Shumy (6×6cm viewfinder, also sold as the Flashline) * Harmony (6×6cm viewfinder) This page of the AJCC website attributes the Semi Dak to Chūō but other sources attribute it to Asahi Shōten (朝日商店). Asahi Shōten: , item 4175; , p.354. Other * Center enlarger (1951) * Minicam copy kit, a repro stand for Leica and Canon rangefinder cameras (1951) * Rondo viewer (1952) * Enlarger meter (1952) * various Rondo accessories (around 1957–9) Notes Bibliography * . Advertisements by Yamashita Shōten in September 1921 and February 1922, by Yamashita Yūjirō Shōten in November 1924. No page numbers. * . Advertisement by Chiyoda Shōkai in April 1946 (p.30). * * . "Atarashii kikai to zairyō" (新しい機械と材料, New equipment and materials), January 1939, pp.189–91. (Briefly mentions Yamashita Shōten as the distributor of flexible hoods.) * Awano Mikio (粟野幹男). "Picny" (ピクニー). In no.332 (February 2005). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha. * * Ōhashi Takeji Shōten (大橋武治商店). Leaflet for the Baby Light and the Cross filters and hood. Date not indicated. Document partly reproduced in this Flickr album by Rebollo_fr. * . Advertisement by Yamashita Shōten in January 1934. No page number. * Links In Japanese: * Advertisements for the Boltax showing the Rondo logo, published in the 8 March and 15 November 1939 and 4 September 1940 issues of Asahi Graph and reproduced in the small format camera page of the Gochamaze website * Advertisement for the enlarging Zuiko 50/4.5 showing the Rondo logo, published in 1941 and reproduced in Nostalgic Camera, a page by Toshio Inamura In French * Chuo page at Collection G. Even's site Category: Japanese distributors